Joe Kennedy
Assistant Professor, Emergency Medicine
Division Chief, Education, Department of Emergency Medicine
Attending Physician
- Fellow, Medical Toxicology, Cook County Health and Hospital System, 2019-2021
- Residency, Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 2015-2019
- M.D., Doctor of Medicine, Mayo Medical School, Minnesota, MD, 2015
- B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 2007
Areas of expertise
Poisonings and envenomation, accidental and intentional overdoses, graduate medical education, faculty development.
BIO
Joseph Kennedy, MD is a medical toxicologist and emergency physician at the University of Vermont Medical Center and assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont. Additionally, he serves as a staff and consulting toxicologist at the Northern New England Poison Center and as the Associate Program Director for the university’s Emergency Medicine Residency. He cares for both adult and pediatric patients, and is a passionate educator of not only physicians, but pharmacists, nurses, medical students, and undergraduate students.
After service as an officer in the US Air Force and US Special Operations Command, Dr. Kennedy graduated from medical school at Mayo Clinic. He then served as a resident in emergency medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and completed fellowship training in medical toxicology at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County.
He has published and presented nationally on topics ranging from the toxicity of novel chemotherapeutic agents to the management of herbal- and plant-based supplement poisonings. He brings clinical expertise in the management of acute overdoses, occupational and industrial exposures, envenomation, pediatric lead poisoning, medication safety errors, and more. An awarded teacher who is recognized as an Expert Educator at the UVM Larner College of Medicine’s Teaching Academy, he is most enthusiastic about bedside teaching at the student- and resident-level and welcomes opportunities to share his passion for toxicology and the care of poisoned patients. Teamwork and the chance to interact with people from all walks of life keep Dr. Kennedy excited to come to work every day. He enjoys the breadth and acuity that a career in emergency medicine affords, but also relishes the opportunity to take more time and form a longitudinal relationship with patients as a toxicologist.
When not in the hospital, he enjoys hiking, swimming, and skiing throughout the Green Mountains and beyond with his wife Colleen, and young children Juliet and Benjamin.
Publications
Awards and Achievements
- 2025 Fellow, American Academy of Clinical Toxicology (national) · Awarded to fewer than 400 individuals in the 50-year history of the specialty for outstanding contributions at the national level to the field of clinical toxicology
- 2025 and 2024 Distinguished Reviewer Recognition, Journal of Medical Toxicology (national) · Top 20% of peer reviewers for a flagship journal of the medical toxicology subspecialty
- 2025 British Medical Journal South Asia Award 2024-2025, Primary Care Category, Nepal Poison Information Center Project Team (international)
- 2025 Distinguished Educator Academy Award – Teaching and Evaluation, Council of Residency Directors (CORD) Academy for Scholarship in Education (national)
- 2024 Expert Teacher, Teaching Academy, Larner College of Medicine (local)
- 2024 Golden Stethoscope Award, Elizabethtown Community Hospital System (regional) · Selected among 16 physician nominees for clinical support, teaching, and education
- 2024, 2022 and 2021 Best Clinical Department Award, Larner College of Medicine (local) · Group award honoring the teaching excellence demonstrated by the faculty of the Department of Emergency Medicine
- 2023 Top 10 Article of the Year, www.emdocs.net, for “Unstable Pelvic Trauma,” co-authored with EM resident Luke Wohlford, MD
- 2023 Faculty Teacher of the Year Award (chosen among 53 teaching faculty), Emergency Medicine Residency Program, Department of Emergency Medicine, Larner College of Medicine (local)
- 2022 Nomination for Clinical Teacher of the Year Award, Larner College of Medicine
- 2019 Graduating Resident Teaching Award, MGH/BWH Emergency Medicine Residency · Top resident among 15 graduating residents, selected by 60 peers, for teaching excellence
- 2019 Andrew W. Eyre Kindness Award, MGH/BWH Emergency Medicine Residency · Top resident among 15 graduating residents chosen by Emergency Department and residency administrative staff for attitude and kindness
- 2018 Resident of the Year, Brigham and Women’s Emergency Department · Top resident among 60 chosen by all staff
- 2015 National Outstanding Medical Student Award, American College of Emergency Physicians
Bio
Joseph Kennedy, MD is a medical toxicologist and emergency physician at the University of Vermont Medical Center and assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont. Additionally, he serves as a staff and consulting toxicologist at the Northern New England Poison Center and as the Associate Program Director for the university’s Emergency Medicine Residency. He cares for both adult and pediatric patients, and is a passionate educator of not only physicians, but pharmacists, nurses, medical students, and undergraduate students.
After service as an officer in the US Air Force and US Special Operations Command, Dr. Kennedy graduated from medical school at Mayo Clinic. He then served as a resident in emergency medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and completed fellowship training in medical toxicology at the University of Illinois at Chicago and the John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County.
He has published and presented nationally on topics ranging from the toxicity of novel chemotherapeutic agents to the management of herbal- and plant-based supplement poisonings. He brings clinical expertise in the management of acute overdoses, occupational and industrial exposures, envenomation, pediatric lead poisoning, medication safety errors, and more. An awarded teacher who is recognized as an Expert Educator at the UVM Larner College of Medicine’s Teaching Academy, he is most enthusiastic about bedside teaching at the student- and resident-level and welcomes opportunities to share his passion for toxicology and the care of poisoned patients. Teamwork and the chance to interact with people from all walks of life keep Dr. Kennedy excited to come to work every day. He enjoys the breadth and acuity that a career in emergency medicine affords, but also relishes the opportunity to take more time and form a longitudinal relationship with patients as a toxicologist.
When not in the hospital, he enjoys hiking, swimming, and skiing throughout the Green Mountains and beyond with his wife Colleen, and young children Juliet and Benjamin.
Publications
Awards and Achievements
- 2025 Fellow, American Academy of Clinical Toxicology (national) · Awarded to fewer than 400 individuals in the 50-year history of the specialty for outstanding contributions at the national level to the field of clinical toxicology
- 2025 and 2024 Distinguished Reviewer Recognition, Journal of Medical Toxicology (national) · Top 20% of peer reviewers for a flagship journal of the medical toxicology subspecialty
- 2025 British Medical Journal South Asia Award 2024-2025, Primary Care Category, Nepal Poison Information Center Project Team (international)
- 2025 Distinguished Educator Academy Award – Teaching and Evaluation, Council of Residency Directors (CORD) Academy for Scholarship in Education (national)
- 2024 Expert Teacher, Teaching Academy, Larner College of Medicine (local)
- 2024 Golden Stethoscope Award, Elizabethtown Community Hospital System (regional) · Selected among 16 physician nominees for clinical support, teaching, and education
- 2024, 2022 and 2021 Best Clinical Department Award, Larner College of Medicine (local) · Group award honoring the teaching excellence demonstrated by the faculty of the Department of Emergency Medicine
- 2023 Top 10 Article of the Year, www.emdocs.net, for “Unstable Pelvic Trauma,” co-authored with EM resident Luke Wohlford, MD
- 2023 Faculty Teacher of the Year Award (chosen among 53 teaching faculty), Emergency Medicine Residency Program, Department of Emergency Medicine, Larner College of Medicine (local)
- 2022 Nomination for Clinical Teacher of the Year Award, Larner College of Medicine
- 2019 Graduating Resident Teaching Award, MGH/BWH Emergency Medicine Residency · Top resident among 15 graduating residents, selected by 60 peers, for teaching excellence
- 2019 Andrew W. Eyre Kindness Award, MGH/BWH Emergency Medicine Residency · Top resident among 15 graduating residents chosen by Emergency Department and residency administrative staff for attitude and kindness
- 2018 Resident of the Year, Brigham and Women’s Emergency Department · Top resident among 60 chosen by all staff
- 2015 National Outstanding Medical Student Award, American College of Emergency Physicians
Publications
Select Publications
Kennedy JM, Kunzler N, Hayes BD. Intravenous Haloperidol Has a Limited Role in the Modern Emergency Department. Annals of EM. Jan;81(1):96-98. PMID: 36270850
Whitledge, JD, Kennedy, JM, Watson, CJ et al. The Impact of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists on Pharmacokinetics and Toxicokinetics: Is a New Diagnostic and Therapeutic Framework Needed?. J. Med. Toxicol. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13181-025-01075-8. PMID: 40216700
Kennedy JM, Paskin S, Lentz S. The osmolal gap has a limited role in the evaluation of possible toxic alcohol poisoning. Ann Emerg Med. 2025 Feb;85(2):180-182. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2024.07.024. PMID: 39843148.
Kennedy JM, Leikin, JB. Pulmonary Disease Related to E-Cigarette Use. N Engl J Med. 2020;383(8):792-793. doi:10.1056/NEJMc2009932. PMID: 32813961
Chhabra N, Kennedy JM. A Review of Cancer Immunotherapy Toxicity II: Adoptive Cellular Therapies, Kinase Inhibitors, Monoclonal Antibodies, and Oncolytic Viruses. J Med Toxicol. 2022 Jan;18(1):43-55. doi: 10.1007/s13181-021-00835-6. Epub 2021 Apr 5. PMID: 33821435; PMCID: PMC8021214.
Kennedy JM, Paskin S, Lentz S. The osmolal gap has a limited role in the evaluation of possible toxic alcohol poisoning. Ann Emerg Med. 2025 Feb;85(2):180-182. doi: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2024.07.024. PMID: 39843148.
*Baker MB, Binda DD, Nozari A, Kennedy JM, Dienes E, Baker WE. Quantitative Analysis of Propofol Dosage in Cannabis Users: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Clin Med. 2025 Jan 28;14(3):858. doi: 10.3390/jcm14030858. PMID: 39941531; PMCID: PMC11818839.